Right to seek happiness: South Korea lifts ban on sex doll imports

South Korean Korea Customs Service (KCS) announced that foreign-made life-size sex dolls, that have been forbidden from entering the country since 2018, despite the absence of specific legislation on the matter, will be once again allowed to be legally brought in.

“Full body Realdolls in adult form are allowed to clear customs,” KCS said in a statement, referring to one of the more widely known brands of sex doll.

However, the KCS added that “imports of Realdolls in the form of minors are prohibited.”

In its statement yesterday, Korea’s customs agency acknowledged that the change in policy was made in light of the court’s ruling, and based on the policies of the US, UK and Australia, which allow adult-sized sex dolls but not child-sized ones.

Life-size sex dolls were declared legal years ago in South Korea, but KCS agents continued confiscating them, citing a law that forbids the import of items that “harm the beautiful traditions and public morals of the nation.”

The KCS has seized more than 1,000 sex dolls since 2018.

The de facto ban remained in place even after South Korea’s supreme court ruled in 2019 that sex dolls fall under the same category as pornography, which although heavily regulated, is legal in the country.

South Korea’s sex doll importers enthusiastically hailed the KCS announcement, with the owner of one company saying that “people’s rights to seek happiness and use [sex dolls] in their private lives have been restricted by the state.”

The decision to lift the ban on previously “banned” adult toys was not celebrated by everyone though. Almost a quarter of a million South Korean residents have signed a petition demanding a complete ban on the silicone sex toys.

Meanwhile, according to local media reports, the KCS decided to hang on to all sex dolls it has confiscated prior to the latest change in policy.